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Some of the most powerful women in real estate have taken the industry’s coaching space into their own hands.
A group of current and former real estate executives have launched The Helm, a coaching platform designed to provide professional development to a more diverse audience. Co-founded by Danielle Wilkie and Heather Frick — formerly of Compass and Oracle, respectively — The Helm aims to help both seasoned veterans and entry-level professionals.
“Women make up more than half of the real estate agents in the United States, yet women make up less than a third of nationally-recognized real estate coaches — The Helm aims to change that,” Wilkie said in a statement. “We are eager to bridge this industry gap, not only by offering more female-centric coaches and coaching, but also by elevating the standard of the coaching provided and promoted.”
In addition to Wilkie and Frick, a number of high-level women real estate professionals will serve as advisers. These include Kamini Lane (CEO of Coldwell Banker Realty), Jodi Hall (former chief operating officer at Countrywide Mortgage), Monica Reynolds (former vice president of Keller Williams MAPS Coaching) and Leslie Appleton-Young (former chief economist for the California Association of Realtors).
“Oftentimes, leading women within the real estate industry believe that they can’t continue to run their successful business while also being a real estate coach,” Frick said in a statement. “At The Helm, we will help uncover and pave the way for these women to both establish a strong coaching practice, and also continue the prosperous trajectory of their businesses.”
The Helm’s founding comes at a time when the real estate industry is mired in scandals related to sexual harassment and assault. The National Association of Realtors is currently being sued by a former employee over allegations of discrimination and harassment, a suit that coincided with former CEO Kenny Parcell stepping down after an expose of the trade group by The New York Times.
eXp Realty is also facing lawsuits from women who claim that recruiters Michael Bjorkman and David Golden drugged and raped them at company events. They allege that the brokerage repeatedly ignored complaints about the men due to their financial success.
Official Partners — a Side affiliate founded by brothers Tal and Oren Alexander — also faces sexual assault allegations tied to drugging and rape, which led to Side suing the brothers for breach of contract.
The Helm co-founders believe that its coaching platform will provide mentorship, one-on-one coaching, workshops and exclusive events to help women capitalize on opportunities in the real estate industry.
Frick has experience in executive roles at technology companies such as Oracle, Assent, Responsys and Merkle. Wilkie’s experience includes time at NBCUniversal Craftsy, NetQuote and Angi.
